An Afternoon Off With Zack
by chibipinkbunny
Summary: Zack manages to get the day off, and who else does he spend it with, his girlfriend Aerith! There's quite a bit of humor in this piece along with angst.


**Author's Note:** So once again this is a flashback from my current story, Chapter 13, but it stands well on its own. If you're reading my story this is nothing new. I posted the Zangeal flashback from Chapter 11 and I had a lot of people read it that hadn't read my story. Anyway, I thought I would do the same with this. It has angst, humor, and a make-out scene. However, they DO keep their clothes on so it's not as mature as most M rated stories. I just felt it was a bit above the T rating. I want to thank my wonderful beta** Blue Jae** for helping me with this! I also wanted to thank **Mint** for going over some important plot details of the flashback with me! Alright, enjoy ^_^

**An Afternoon Off With Zack**

Zack had finally done the impossible. He had managed to sweet-talk the General into letting him have the afternoon off, or at least that's how Zack saw it. In exchange for the afternoon off, he had agreed to stay late for the next few days to help the General with his paperwork. However, Sephiroth never disclosed the full details of their agreement, including how much paperwork there was to get done. Zack had unknowingly traded five hours of time off in exchange for about fifteen hours of extra paperwork. It wouldn't be until tomorrow that Zack realized he had been duped, but for now he was cheerful as he thought of the bright prospects that afternoon had in store.

He called up Aerith with the good news, and she rushed over to meet him at the church. With his Mako-enhanced speed he had managed to beat her and was waiting inside the church with open arms. After a more than amiable greeting, they settled in under the golden light of the sun that poured in through the church. Zack was lying on his back with Aerith resting on his chest. Zack talked about his day while Aerith interjected comments every now and then. After she'd been silent for about five minutes, Zack looked down to find her asleep. He watched the slow rise and fall of her chest with fascination. Almost everything about the pretty flower girl drove him over the edge of excitement, and he never felt more alive than when he was with her. She was the first thing he thought about in the morning, and the last thing he thought about before going to sleep. On the nights that he had an arousing dream, "Aerith" was the name that shattered the midnight silence.

For the first time in his life he was in love, and the only thing he was surer about in life was that he wanted to be a hero. Now he had her wrapped up in his arms, safe from the rest of the world that threatened to harm her. She was his, damn it, and he wasn't going to let anyone else lay a finger on her. That was his last thought before fading off into the dark abyss of sleep.

Basking in the warmth of the afternoon, they slept with limbs intertwined in affection. About an hour later, Aerith started to wake up. As she slowly lifted her head up from Zack's chest, she noticed that he was still asleep, his face peaceful in slumber. Resisting the temptation to wake him up, she pulled back from his arms to gaze at the beautiful man beside her. His body glistened a rich shade of beige under the illumination of the mid-day sun. Amidst golden tan skin, his full lips appeared a soft coral and were slightly parted like that of an innocent child. His muscles were sharp and defined, dynamic in movement, but lax in slumber as he lay totally unaware of his surroundings.

With eyes closed in slumber, he looked gentle as a puppy, the kind of animal that enjoyed activities such as chasing its tail and running to catch a ball. Aerith noticed that even when he was awake, he still looked much like a puppy and acted like one too. With his boundless energy, he enjoyed plastering her with kisses and running around the park. At times, he reminded her so much of a puppy that she could almost imagine him wagging a tail.

Yet there was another side to Zack that scared her, his SOLDIER side. To her he was Zack 'the puppy,' but to Shinra's army he was Lieutenant Zack Fair, SOLDIER 1st Class. In combat he was ruthless, capable of felling monsters and humans alike without batting an eye in regret. She was in love with a SOLDIER, someone who had slaughtered, butchered, maimed, and killed many of Gaia's children. Their only crime being that they lived on the wrong side, the non-Shinra side. Killing was only part of his profession she had reminded herself, an obligation to SOLDIER. She couldn't fully convince herself of his blamelessness though because his eyes betrayed his innocent puppy façade. No puppy Aerith ever knew had glowing blue eyes that flared with the intensity of death and fire.

Her fears often manifested at night when she was caught off guard and unaware. She had a dream last night, perhaps a vision of sorts. Zack's eyes burnt feral as he emerged from the ruins of a city burnt and torched to the ground. Covered and dripping with blood, he dropped to his knees and screamed the anguished cry of a thousand tormented souls. Then he turned to look at her, blue eyes pleading in desperation for her to run away, far away and as fast as she could. She didn't run though, instead she walked slow and steady towards him, never dropping his gaze. After closing the distance between them, she dropped down to her knees beside him. He threw his arms around her waist with a fierce intensity of longing, as though he was about to leave her forever. He buried his face in her shoulder and shuddered against her. She whispered words of love and affection as he cried about failed dreams and lost honor.

Perhaps it didn't mean anything, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen to Zack. The planet spoke to her in many different ways with dreams being an important means of communication, but sometimes a dream was just a dream; nothing more than a bunch of random thoughts thrown together. At times it was hard to tell the difference between an omen and a dream, but there was something too real about this one. When she woke her heart was still felt heavy, as though her sorrow had somehow transcended the dream world.

She thought about warning Zack to be careful, but if she didn't say anything maybe the thought would just go away. Perhaps she was making a big deal out of nothing. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop the feeling of dread from rising up in her throat, urging her to warn her beloved of an unknown impending peril. Maybe she would say something to him, not now, but later. He had rearranged his schedule so that he had the rest of the afternoon off, and she didn't want to spoil it.

Propping herself up on her elbow, she ran a hand through his dark raven spikes. "You're so beautiful when you're sleeping," she said softly, "and quiet too," she added with a whisper of a laugh.

Zack pressed his head up into her hand with a contented sigh. That voice, Zack thought, so beautiful and light, like the melody of wind chimes dancing in the wind. His heavy-lidded eyes slowly opened as he took in his surroundings. As he fully opened them the fuzziness started to disappear, and he immediately recognized Aerith.

"I was wondering when you'd wake up sleepyhead," she said with an angelic smile.

The opportunity was too perfect for him to pass up, so he flashed a smile as he turned over to face her. His voice was still heavy with the aftereffects of sleep as he said, "Did I die and go to heaven because I think I'm seeing an angel."

"Oh Zack," she giggled, "didn't you use that line on me the other day?"

His smile became even more indulgent as he looked into her eyes and said, "Maybe, but I can't help if it's true."

"You're so sweet," she inclined her head and gave him a scrutinizing look. "Well, a bit corny, but definitely sweet." She leaned over and gently brushed her lips against his before pulling back. A tease every now and then was fun.

"What, is that all I get for being the most awesome boyfriend?" he said in a comically pompous voice.

"Well, for being the most AWSOMEST boyfriend on the planet I guess you deserve something a little more." Leaning over once again, she pressed her lips onto his, but before she knew what was going on he rolled her over on her back. His arms were extended on both sides of her face, and he was kneeling, straddled over her.

"Zack," she laughed, "what are you doing?"

"I'm not sure," he said with a slight laugh. It was more a release of tension than anything else. "Gaia, you're so beautiful Aerith," he said in a deep husky voice of desire. His deep blue eyes captured her green ones in passionate glance before he bent down to take her lips in a kiss. She closed her eyes and slightly lifted her head up in anticipation, but at the last second he pressed a quick kiss to her forehead.

"Tease," she smirked.

"Oh, so you want more of where that came from?" he asked playfully. Before she had a chance to ask what he meant, he pelted her with light kisses all over her face.

She closed her eyes and brought her hands over her face to block the affectionate assault, but she was no match for his SOLDIER prowess. She had trouble getting the words out between giggles. "Zack, stop it. Please?"

He drew back and said with a sarcastic undertone, "Well, since you asked so nicely I guess I will, but you might not be so lucky next time."

After sitting down beside her, he helped pull her up into a sitting position whereby she nestled down beside him. "So, what do you want to do today?" Zack asked.

"Hmmm," she hummed in concentration. "How about we go see a movie?"

"Yeah, sure. Anything you want to see in particular?" Zack asked. He crossed one set of fingers behind his back hoping that she didn't want to see anything with princesses in it.

"Well, there's that 'Little Mermaid' movie that just came out. I've been really looking forward to seeing it," she said with a dash of hope.

He bit the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from blurting out something he'd regret later. He threw his head forward in resignation as he said, "I don't know Aerith, there are going to be a lot of little kids there. Besides, what if any of the guys are there?"

"Since when have you cared what others thought about you?" she asked

"Since the day my girlfriend asked me to go to another animated princess movie," he said with a cheeky smile.

She gave him a slight shove, "You're horrible." He could only chuckle as he watched her fight against the smile creeping up on her lips. "Well, how about I make it worth your while," she purred in a soft demure voice.

"Oh yeah," Zack said with sudden renewed interest and a beaming smile. "What did you have in mind?"

Clasping her hands together she said with a smile, "I'll make you dinner again. You seemed to really like it last time. I've improved too, and I want to show you my new skills."

More like use me as a test subject, Zack thought grimly. Zack shifted uncomfortably and his eyes darted around avoiding her gaze. "Uh, well that's not exactly what I was thinking of, but sure dinner sounds great." He could only hope she didn't cook that same crunchy rice and dry chicken slop that she did last time.

She gently batted her lashes and gave an innocent pout as she looked at him with hopeful eyes.

"Alright, you win," he said with a small chuckle. "The 'Little Mermaid' it is."

"Yaaaay," she squealed with delight. She pounced on him and threw her arms around his neck. Her eyes shined with affection as she gave him a big smile of gratitude. "Thanks."

THAT was what he was waiting for. Somehow her smile made anything worth the trouble it had caused him. He would have to remember that when he was in the movie theater watching a princess movie and wondering how she had talked him into it, AGAIN. Amusement mixed with the desire in his voice as he said, "You're just lucky you're so cute."

As he leaned in to kiss her, he could feel her warm breath on his face, it smelled sweet like honey. Capturing her lips with his, he gently opened her mouth with his tongue. He explored the hot wet expanse of her mouth before she opened up for an even deeper kiss. He gently lapped at her tongue in a slow rhythm before pushing himself deep within her mouth. This elicited a moan of pleasure from Aerith as she felt her body tingle with pleasure. Pulling back, he nipped her bottom lip before letting go. With foreheads pressed together, Zack placed his hands on her flushed cheeks. His words came out thick with desire and affection as he said, "Aerith, I love you so much."

Echoing his sentiments she whispered back, "I love you too Zack." She grabbed hold of one of his wrists and led his hand down to her breast. Her voice came out a little awkward as she looked up at him and said, "I want you to touch me." It wasn't something that she said often, or ever for that matter. However, Zack was too lost in the moment to notice her embarrassment. He pressed a kiss to her forehead before gently laying her down on the ground. Tugging at his shirt, he quickly pulled it off and folded it up so that it resembled a pillow. Lifting up her head, he put the folded up shirt underneath her. "Here, that should be more comfortable."

"You sure you didn't just want to show me your muscled chest?" she said with a teasing smile.

"Maybe, why do you like it," he replied, releasing a laugh that was a bit more nervous than intended. He lay down next to her on his side and crossed a leg over her thighs. It was more than just a position of convenience. He was claiming her, a silent announcement to the world that Aerith was his and no one else's. Pulling her close, the side of her hips fit perfectly against his groin. The look in his face was desperate, lustful, and raw. Aerith reflected his expression of need with one of her own but much less wild in its intensity. His need was like that of a starving lion for food while hers was like that of a cat for its next meal.

Reaching a hand out, he slowly started caressing the breast closest to him. She turned her head to give him a soft smile before he dove in for her neck. Trailing sloppy kisses down the alabaster column of her neck, he finally came to the sensitive base of her neck. Slowly, he scraped his teeth against her until she made a soft sound in the back of her throat. He started to nip at that spot, while her sounds of pleasure increased in intensity. Then he started to suck at the delicate skin, which felt so smooth and tender in his mouth, until she gave a little whimper of pain. He drew back with a whisper of an apology before capturing her once again in a passionate kiss.

She opened her mouth as wide as she could for because she wanted as much of him inside of her as possible. His tongue filled her mouth with a warm and sensual sensation. Tilting her head up, she gave him even deeper access to the warm moist cavern of her mouth. He greedily took the offer and slid his tongue down as far into her as he could. She fisted his hair in her hands, gently tugging at his black spikes. While kissing, he still managed to caress her breast in stimulating strokes. Every now and then he paused on her nipple area and gave it extra attention, which earned him a cry of bliss from his lover.

As he drew his tongue out, she whimpered at the loss. Her swollen lips formed into a soft pout, imploring him to kiss her once again. "Greedy little thing, aren't you?" he said in a deep husky voice. He went back for her neck, and it wasn't long before she was making small incoherent sounds of pleasure.

He was becoming hard, and she could feel his unfilled desire as he bucked against her side. She wanted to stroke his cloth covered erection and make him cry out with the kind of pleasure that only she could give him. As she started to reach a hand down, Zack took the hint and guided her hand down until it settled on his hardened length. She started stroking him, and he rocked into her hand in an attempt to get even more of that wonderful feeling.

"Oh gods Aerith," he moaned into her shoulder. "Keep going, that feels . . ." His breath hitched in his throat before he could finish his statement. She kept her strokes at a maddeningly slow pace while he groaned with frustrated need. "Please baby, don't stop," he begged, to which she obliged by stroking him at a now feverish pace.

It wasn't long before Zack wanted more, so he sat up first and then pulled Aerith up to a sitting position. Now that he had better access to her back, he pulled down the back of her dress so that he could unsnap her bra. It gave with a simple twist of the wrist, and Aerith was alarmed that he managed it with such ease. He'd obviously had some practice with other girls, unless he was just a natural at unsnapping bras, or really lucky. She started to falter in her faith when she thought of all of the other girls Zack had been with. He'd never gone into the details, but rumors spread like wildfire in the Slums. The word around town was that Zack was quite the ladies' man and had ample experience with women.

She tried to silence the doubts in the back of her mind, but they were too strong at this moment to ignore. How many other girls had he pledged his love to? Was she just another conquest? He probably hadn't had a flower girl before. . . No, that couldn't be, she thought, Zack's love and affection seemed too real. So why did she feel ashamed of herself all of a sudden? Her cheeks burned red with embarrassment as she suddenly became aware of how naked she felt. "Zack," she said panting against shoulder, "I think we better stop."

His hands dropped down and fell limp at his sides while Aerith went about re-snapping her bra. Not wanting her to see his look of disappointment, he looked away while he quickly composed himself. Giving her a small smile he said, "Yeah, I guess you're right." Pulling her into a hug he sighed, "Gods Aerith, I'm sorry." His voice came out ragged and raw with pent up sexual frustration. "I just want you so much."

She reached for his hand and nuzzled him under the chin. "I know," she said in a wistful tone. He stroked her head as she buried her face into his chest. Wanting to brighten the mood Aerith said, "Why don't we go to the movie now?"

"Uhhh Aerith, I think I need to calm down before we leave the church," he said with a sheepish expression on his face. The color crept up into his cheeks as he realized his girlfriend was starting to analyze his 'problem.' She looked down at his pants to find evidence of his arousal still bulging outwards. The situation was more than a little awkward for both of them.

"Oh," she said in surprise. She put a hand up over her mouth to stifle a giggle.

"I'll uh. . . just be at the back of the church," he said scratching the back of his head while avoiding her gaze.

Aerith tried to distract herself with the flowers while Zack walked to the back of the church hoping to solve his 'problem.'

Zack found a comfortable spot at the back of the church in the corner and sat down. He tilted his head back and let the cool air wash over him as he tried to think of unsexy thoughts. Zack thought to himself. What's unsexy? Men in thongs, yeah that should work.

Just then his mind drifted off to a conversation he'd had earlier with the General. Zack never was very good at concentrating on a single subject for long periods of time. He reflexively jerked his thoughts back to the task at hand, unsexy thoughts. Unfortunately, his thoughts of Sephiroth mixed with his previous musings of men in thongs. Before Zack knew it, he was fantasizing about the General in a thong.

_In the light of the moon, the General was resplendent in all of his handsomeness. His finely sculpted physique was reminiscent of the gods from the days of the Ancient Cetras. The night luminescence played in prismatic patterns with his moonlight hair, which cascaded down his back in waves. It wafted ever so slightly in the breeze, caressing the muscular and fleshy cheeks of his bare ass. Sephiroth's package, laying delicately against his thighs, looked ample enough to satisfy a whale. _

With a bit of alarm, Zack realized he was having one of those infamous Sephiroth boner-dreams everyone talked so much about. Not only was he not calming down, he was getting more aroused. He cursed himself inwardly, stupid sexy Seph, stupid sexy Seph! It wasn't his fault right? What mere mortal could resist the lure of the General? He needed to think of someone else fast! Zack reminded himself that he had to concentrate on UNSEXY men in thongs. Heidegger! It didn't take long for Zack to start calming down with thoughts of Heidegger's rotund figure bursting out of a tiny thong. His thoughts roamed again. Hojo in a thong! Now what could be unsexier than that? Like a moth drawn to a flame, Zack's eyes went directly to Hojo's scantily clad package, which hung limp like a dead snake, a very small snake.

"Sweet Shiva, that is wrong!" Zack exclaimed without realizing he was speaking aloud.

The sudden sound startled Aerith, and she stood up from her flower tending. "Are you okay Zack?" she called towards the back.

"Yeah," he squeaked. The calming effect of Hojo's thong image was almost instantaneous, and Zack was back to his pre-arousal state in no time. He stood up and did a few squats to help get his blood moving to the appropriate body parts. Then he did a few more to help clear his mind of that disturbing image of Hojo in a thong, nothing like a few squats to help one get over a traumatic experience.

Clearing his throat, he strode up to the front in his usual gallant air as though nothing had happened. "You ready to go Aerith?" he said with a smile as he reached out a hand to help her up.

She gave a slight head nod. "Only if you are," she giggled.

He couldn't help but laugh a little. "Yeah, I think I'm good. Just no more kisses for the rest of the night," he playfully chided her.

"I don't know if I can manage," she responded with a sparkle in her eyes.

He reached for her hand with a smile and intertwined his sweaty fingers with her dirt-covered ones. Love wasn't always clean like it was in fairy tales.

~*~*~*~*~

With Aerith at his side, Zack was at the counter of the movie theater ordering some popcorn when he heard someone call out his name.

"Hey Zack, what are you doing here man?" Kunsel slapped a hand on Zack's shoulder and turned him around.

With a friendly smile Zack shook his head and said, "Not much man, just taking Aerith out to see a movie."

"Oh, what movie are you going to see?"

Zack hesitated a moment too long in deciding what to say. In the meantime Aerith blurted out, "The Little Mermaid."

"Dude, 'The Little Mermaid?!'" Kunsel's buddy had already started laughing before Kunsel could get all of the words out. "Man, just wait till the guys hear about this. First Class Officer Fair is watching 'The Little Mermaid.'"

"Yeah, yeah," he said dismissing them with his hands. "I'd rather be watching 'The Little Mermaid,' with the most beautiful girl on Gaia then watching a movie with you chuckleheads."

Their laughter slightly subsided when they realized that Zack had a valid point

"Come on Aerith," Zack said grabbing her hand, "let's go watch that movie." Flashing his friends a cocky grin he waved and said, "I'll see you later guys."

"Alright man, see ya," Kunsel said with a departing slap on Zack's arm. Kunsel turned to Aerith and winked, "Make sure my boy doesn't enjoy that movie too much, okay Aerith."

"I'll keep a close eye on him," she said tossing Zack a mischievous smile.

After their goodbyes, they walked towards the movie following the path of children into the theater. Zack quickly scouted some seats in the back, and they made their way up. Unfortunately, the theater filled up relatively quickly, and in a matter of minutes Zack and Aerith were surrounded by children. Zack discreetly reached for her hand underneath the cupholder, and she gave him a smile as their fingers intertwined. He would have been happy to stay like that for a while, but the young boy beside Zack had other plans.

"Hey mister," said the eight year old boy. He was directing his comment to Zack.

Zack looked around to make sure the kid wasn't referring to anyone else before asking, "Are you talking to me?"

"Yeah you, who else?" The boy peered over Zack to look at Aerith, and she gave him a friendly wave.

"Is that your girlfriend?" He shoved a handful of popcorn in his mouth while waiting for an answer.

"Why yes she is," Zack said with a proud smile.

"Ewww, I bet she's got cooties," he responded in disgust.

Aerith was giggling, but Zack took the comment as an insult, and no one insulted his girlfriend and got away with it. "Look little dude, she doesn't have cooties because she washed them off before she came here. In fact, I even saw her wash them off."

While Zack remained oblivious to the implications of what he had just said, Aerith could feel the heat rising in her cheeks. She sat back in her seat waiting for the embarrassment to pass.

"Oh yeah?" the boy said in a daring, taunting manner.

"Yeah!" Zack said in an escalation of the boy's tone. "So why don't you say you're sorry?"

"Sorry," he said half-heartedly, almost sarcastically. It was an apology made out of force rather than one out of sincerity.

"Wait a second," Zack said with hushed urgency. He brought his face up close to the boy's shirt and narrowed his eyes as though he was watching something. Throwing Aerith a sidelong glance he said, "Don't look now Aerith, I think this boy has cooties."

"What?!" the boy asked with panic. Standing up, he threw his head around trying to look for the cootie bugs Zack had supposedly seen.

"I can't look," Zack said covering his eyes, "this is the worst case I've ever seen. There's no hope for this one."

"Please, mister you have to help me!" the boy pleaded.

At this point, the people around them were starting to stare. Zack realized he had to cut the joke short if he didn't want to make a scene.

"Gotcha," Zack said pointing an accusing finger at the boy.

"Hey, that's not very nice," the boy complained.

"Yeah," Zack said with a swift up jerk of his chin. "Show me where it says I have to be nice to little kids who insult my girlfriend."

The boy did the most insulting thing he could think of, he squinted and stuck out his big pink tongue.

Rolling his eyes Zack said, "Well that was clever. Anyway, where's your mom? Shouldn't you be bothering her instead?"

"Oh, she's right here," the little boy said pointing over to his mother. Zack noticed that she was busy talking on her cell phone. She probably didn't even notice her son's annoying behavior, which meant Zack was going to have to deal with it for the time being.

The boy took a few nibbles of popcorn and a big slurp of soda before he began bothering Zack again. If Zack thought the cootie bug joke was the end of it, he was wrong. The boy had made it his personal mission to annoy Zack, and wasn't giving up without a fight. "Hey mister, why is your hair so spiky?" The little boy stood up to touch Zack's hair with his greasy hand, but Zack quickly dodged the attack.

"Whoa, kid, what do you think you're doing?"

"I'm just wondering how soft your spikes are," the boy said, trying to pull off a tone of innocent childlike curiosity. Anyone else would have been fooled, but not Zack, he knew better.

"Well don't, okay," Zack responded in irritation. He quickly ran his hands over his hair making sure no damage had been done.

At this point Zack couldn't wait for the movie to start. If nothing else, it would get that little boy beside him to be quiet.

"Hey mister, aren't you a little old for this film?"

Zack rolled his eyes before responding, "Listen kid, what's your problem? Do you have a stick up your aaaa. . ." Aerith squeezed his hand tightly causing him to rethink his word choice,". . . aaask me some more questions. Do you have any more questions you'd like to ask?

The little boy wrinkled his nose and said, "You're kinda' weird."

Zack had to bite his cheek to refrain from saying exactly what was on his mind. If Aerith wasn't there he would have sworn at the boy, but he didn't want Aerith to think he was an insensitive brute, so he kept quiet instead. With a sigh he slumped down into his seat. Yep, this was going to be a LONG movie, Zack thought. It hadn't even started and he couldn't wait to get out of here. Aerith turned and gave him a comforting smile of gratitude, and Zack responded with a wan smile that said, "You're totally worth it, but being here sucks."

A hushed silence spread over the whole audience as the movie started, even the annoying little boy next to Zack became quiet. It wasn't long before Zack started squirming uncomfortably in his seat. Sitting still for long periods of time had never been his specialty, which was only compounded by the fact that he had relatively no interest in this film. Aerith gave him a comforting smile and rubbed his knee in soothing strokes, which calmed him down for a few minutes. As the movie progressed, Aerith noticed that he was becoming less restless, a sign that he might actually be enjoying the movie. When it came time for the prince to rescue his mermaid lover, Zack's enthusiasm got the best of him. In a voice much louder than a whisper he said, "Oh yeah!" The people sitting in the immediate vicinity of Zack gave him a mixed variety of shushes and glares. Aerith tried her best to hold in her laughter, but when Zack sank down in his seat and gave a sheepish smile, she couldn't help but laugh.

He would never admit it to her, but he actually enjoyed the movie. As they made their way out of the theater Aerith asked, "So what did you think of the movie?"

Scratching the back of his head, Zack mumbled, "Eh, it was okay."

"Just okay?" Aerith asked with a teasing smile.

With a small smile Zack responded, "Well, maybe a little more than okay."

They made their way outside and found a recess in the back of the building where they could take shelter from prying eyes. Zack wrapped his arms around her in an embrace while she curled her fingers into his shirt.

Looking up at him, she asked in a solemn voice, "Zack, will you come rescue me if I'm in trouble?"

"Of course Aerith" he said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. Looking down at her with an over -confident smile he said, "I'd even be there before you could finish screaming for help."

"Hmmm," she hummed into his chest. He could feel her lithe body go rigid against him as she asked, "What if you need rescuing?"

"Me?!" Zack let out a hearty laugh. "I'm supposed to be the hero, and everybody knows that heroes don't get need rescuing. Besides I'm a 1st Class SOLDIER, nothing happens to guys like us."

She cut him off sharply, "Zack, I had a terrible dream last night." She winced as though the words were shards of glass cutting her throat on the way out. "There was fire and lots of blood. You were crying Zack, and there was a deep sorrow within your eyes that I'd never seen before." Her eyes started to water as she lost control of her emotions. She pressed her face into his chest. "I'm scared Zack. . ." her voice began to drift away—to fade—to die.

The trees snapped in the wind, wild and irregular, like the heart beating in her chest. Zack pulled her close, allowing her to take refuge in his sheltering embrace. The rest of the world seemed to bleed into the background as she buried herself in his chest. Her muffled cries burned him, like acid coating his insides. It pained him to hear her cry because he felt utterly helpless against it. She looked up at him with glassy eyes, tears spilling over and sliding down her face in crystal clear rivulets. Raising his hands to her cheeks, he gently wiped the tears away. In a soothing voice he said, "Don't cry Aerith, it's going to be okay." He gently placed a kiss on the top of her head as he pulled her close once more. He held her for several minutes, safe and secure, until she calmed down.

Her voice was laced with sadness as she looked up at him and said, "Zack, promise me that you'll always come back to me."

He looked deep into her sparkling emerald eyes, damp with hope turned asunder, and felt weak for the first time today. She could have asked for the world in that moment, and he would have given it to her. At the very least he would have died trying. In a gentle but determined voice he said, "Aerith, there is nothing that could keep me away from you, I promise."


End file.
